Winter Market

The gorgeousness that is the Southbank Winter Market is back!

After freezing ourselves getting across the bridge between embankement station and the market, our first stop was for two deliciously moreish Hot Chocolates where you get to choose what flavour you’d like as well as what “hot drop” you want

Himself went for the Hazlenut Hot Chocolate with Jack Daniels Whiskey

And I splashed out on the Coffee Hot Chocolate with Amaretto, which was incredibly yum

Once stirred to perfection, we supped away until our bellies were warm and made being out in the chilly air feel not quite so bad anymore

There’s lots to see this year and each stall will make you want to part with your hard earned mula!

The camaraderie between stalls is lovely, they all seem to get on very well, recommend others if there’s something specific you’re looking for that they don’t have and the hot chocolate lads seem to be constantly passing out drinks to keep the owners warm!

Last year, the Rekorderlig Cider Lodge was rammed with bodies, so this year we went over early to see what all the fuss was about

I ordered their Frosty Cosmo and Himself had a Blue Moon

We decided to sit outside (still warm from our ‘hot drop’ hot chocolates!) and took in the views – there was salt covering every surface to keep market wanders safe from slipping and sliding all over the place!

The drinks were grand and the view was pretty good too. We reckoned the place would have a magical atmosphere with all the fairy lights turned on, but we had to use our imagination as they hadn’t quite got round to flicking the switch yet!

Outfit

Headband, old (similar) | Scarf, old (similar) | Peacoat | Gloves, old (similar) | Handbag old, (similar) | Jeans | Boots

^ Loved this!

After another bit of a stroll, we started thinking about foodage and chose the Duck Fat Chips with home-made mayonnaise

Oh my good – food of the gods – grief! They were THE BEST thing ever

I know you want to reach into your screen and grab a few – and I don’t blame you!

Seriously though, if you can get yourself to the market and are only going so that you can sample these – it won’t be a trip wasted!

I fell a little bit in love at the next stall – not only with the wares (hello new hat!) – but with the owners helper, a beautiful maltese terrier, who was so bundled up in her sheeps wool blanket that she was almost completely camouflaged! Unfortunately she was a little camera shy, but definitely look out for her if you go – she’s gorgeous

Taking a break from the winter air, lots of people were inside having a wheely good time at the roller disco (<—- bahaha!). I would have gone for a whirl, but Himself is not the best at the whole balancing while skating thing, so we decided to give it a miss

Our bellies roared – apparently the shared pot of glorious chips just wasn’t enough! We decided on “The Polish hot-dog”. I was quite disappointed when we found out that they didn’t have any onions on the go.

Who makes hot-dogs and doesn’t have onions as a topping choice?!

If I’d realised beforehand, I definitely would’ve gone to the other hot dog stall higher up on the platform as they had lots of toppings to choose from. All that being said, the hot-dog was very tasty and the roll was perfect, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside – nom!

The cold snap got colder, so naturally I turned to a cup of mulled wine for help

Sure it wouldn’t be a proper Christmas Market visit without a cup of mulled wine!

Himself doesn’t drink wine, so went in search of something that he would prefer

^ well it would’ve been rude not to!

I’d never tried amaretto in mulled wine before, I really liked it, I think I actually like mulled wine better as a drink with the amaretto than without

(to be fair, I’d never tried amaretto in hot chocolate before either…I think I just like amaretto!)

I found Himself a few stalls over, patiently awaiting a gourmet grilled cheese sandwich

Once he had it I said “ooh let me take your picture”, this is the reaction I got…

After several hours taking in the atmosphere, the food and the drink, we were content to head home to movies, snuggly blankets and maybe even a mince pie (or two…!), but just before we did, one final stall called out to us

They weren’t roasting on an open fire, but they were roasting and they smelt amazing!

We bought one bag to share and tucked in

Totally yum and a great way to finish off our time at the market

Needless to say, we left feeling very christmassy indeed!

P.S. There were no Churros this year – I was suitably devastated!

Rxx